Hazel has been hovering on brink of death for over 2 years. At 12 she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and just when all was lost she was entered into a drug trial which holds the cancer at bay, never curing her, but keeping it from killing her. But she knows her time is limited. Because of the disease she cannot go to school and mostly sits around the house reading and watching America's Next Top Model.
One fateful day, her mom forces her out of the house to attend a cancer support group where Hazel first meets Augustus Waters, who will change her world. Augustus is a cancer survivor, who lost his leg in the battle but came out on the other side alive. He is smart, funny, full of life and immediately falls for Hazel.
The rest is history, a beautiful love story about two young people, trying to make it work. John Green has really out done himself here. This story is not new, many authors have written about love between young cancer patients (my favorite being Six Months to Live, a classic), but he does tell it unbelievably well. The writing in this book is phenomenal, and heartbreaking. So many great quotes I wish I could share, but since many of them are from the end of the book and might spoil something, I will leave you with this:
"That’s the thing about pain," Augustus said, and then glanced back at me. "It demands to be felt."